Home Entertainment System
Yes, the home entertainment theory in video games. Sony and XBox are practicing it, but why isn’t Nintendo jumping on the bandwagon?
Sony says that the PS2 is more than just an entertainment machine: it is a portal to your entertainment world. What they mean by this is that the PS2 will be your gateway to your all-in-one entertainment centre, which includes listening to music, playing DVD’s, games, and online capabilities which will allow people to chat, play games, and exchange data over a wide network. Microsoft seems to think the same way, although their not fully into it. But we know, of course, that Microsoft certainly has the backing and technology to make the XBox your entertainment centre. You can play DVDs and burn CDs on your XBox. Interesting, but feasible?
Enter Nintendo. They’re aiming their console at the parent raising two kids who just can’t afford to buy a rocking sound system. It makes sense. If XBox and PS2 are aimed at 18-25 year olds, then these kids are certainly splurging their money on this sort of thing. If you’re aiming it at kids that are still in elementary and high school, then you probably wouldn’t get them spending their 10 $ a week allowances on a hip-hopping system.
There are a couple of pros and cons about these entertainment centres. Everything is in one place and way easier to access, so their is less clutter, and less spending. However, you’re not getting all the features in your PS2 then if you would go out and buy a full DVD player. If you’re going to spend some money, you might as well spend it on something with more features.
Nintendo’s aim is to keep things simple. A simple design, and good, deep gameplay. This is a hard thing to do in this ripe and bubbling digital age, but I’m confident that Nintendo can win people over by keeping it real. As that famous saying goes “the simplest solution is usually the right one.”